Many electronic devices have a removable electric power supply cord. Many types of connectors have been devised to connect the cord to the device, and as the size of such devices shrinks, the size of the connectors must be minimized to fit into the housing of the devices, eliminating the viability of many older and larger designs. Several types of connectors, including but not limited to C7 and C8 connectors, are designed with a slim profile to fit into such devices. These types of connectors provide a slim connector housing that provides connections that meet the safety requirements for two pin connectors. For purposes of this discussion, a two pin connector is a connector that only provides a connection between a live pin and a neutral pin through the connector.
Since many modern electrical devices incorporate sophisticated electronic circuits that can be very susceptible to static discharge, it is a problem that many types of slim connectors do not provide an earth pin for grounding the connected circuit. One problem with providing a slim connector with a slim profile is that the earth pin must be configured so as to not contact the surrounding housing to prevent the housing and any connected device from being damaged by a short in a connected circuit. Furthermore, the connector should prevent cords that are used for other types of connectors from being used with the connector to prevent users from plugging the wrong connector into the device, which can result in circuit overloads and shorts. Thus, those skilled in the art are constantly striving to provide a slim connector for power cords that meets all of the safety requirements needed for consumer use and includes an earth pin.